The Tale of the Forever Prince

The legend of the Forever Prince has been told many times. This author has attempted through research of the Elder Tomes, to remove the myth from the true history.

Demonskull

In the small Western Kingdom of Elnarnan, the young King Arlen the 1st, meets, courts and subsequently marries a princess of Silverleaf, Altuana.

They were a happy and popular couple, young attractive and mindful of their subjects. Three years into their marriage Altuana announced she was with child and the Kingdom rejoiced. A son Brion was born to Altuana and Arlen in the early winter of the year 784 I.A.

Their happiness was short-lived as Altuana died a month later due to complications that not even the finest physicians could remedy.

The Kingdom remained in mourning long after the normal timeframe, due to the popularity of Altuana and Arlen. It only ended after Brion began to walk. Brion was a sweet child adored by all the servants and citizens.

Four more years went by before Arlen was convinced by his advisors that he needed to take a new bride to ensure the Royal line. At the time many children died before maturity so one son was not deemed sufficient. After several months of meeting many eligible women, Arlen surprised everyone by chosing Leyliana a daughter of the Elven Ambassador.

The Elves were viewed with some suspicion at the time. Common thought was that the elves wanted to secretly control the monarchy so their marriage only fed the gossip.

Their marriage proved fruitful and a year after their marriage another boy was born. The boy was named Luran and as he grew he gained a reputation for “snooping where he shouldn’t be”. Luran was exceptionally quiet when moving a common trait among the elven coupled with his inquisitive nature and the suspicion of the common castle folk, that reputation grew.

Another shared elven trait was exceptional hearing, the child could hear all those snide remarks and started to react to them. He’d prank anyone who insulted him which only fanned the flames of resentment higher. The more insults, the more pranks. On several occasions the King himself had to intervene.

Luran and his brother Brion were very fond of each other. Luran admired his older brother as many younger siblings do and Brion loved his little brother and was known to be quite protective.

As the brothers grew, they learned all many of skills a noble should know. They both excelled in swordsmanship, horsemanship, economics and were introduced to the political world. Brion could navigate the political circles as easily as he could their small sail boat. Luran had difficulty with politics as he never forgot a slight and took all comments especially those made in the heat of an argument personally. Brion had commented on this to his brother on several occasions, who simply stated “I have no intention of ever being King so I will not swallow their insults”.

As they grew into manhood they met and married, two sisters actually, from a good noble family and they were all happy with the unions.

Two years after Luran’s marriage the King died of natural causes and Brion was coronated. Leyliana tired of the veiled insults on her elven heritage and not wishing to add confusion by being a ex-queen returned to her homeland.

The new Queen soon was with child and the realm was vastly disappointed when she delivered a girl. In the next ten years the Queen delivered two more girls and a miscarriage.

The old resentments rose and people started to say it was an Elven plot to take the throne. The Royal lineage was passed down only from father to son in that age so the next in line to the throne was Luran. As was his wont Luran never denied the rumors and even made some snide comments which just antagonized the rumor mongers. Soon Anti-Elf factions decided to murder the Prince. After several near misses both Luran and Brion got together to combat these murder attempts.

The years rolled by without Brion having a son. The longer it went on the more desperate the Anti-Elf factions became. Time and again assassins attempted to kill Luran. One of these attempts ended with the death of Luran’s wife and this infuriated the Prince who had merely been reactive in the past. Now he sought out those who’d ever slighted him finding reasons to imprison them. He even challenged several to a dual, easily killing them.

The brothers hoped this tact would discourage further attempts but he only fueled them. People who didn’t care about the Princes’ heritage now began to fear and despise him.

Brion grew old, still having no son and eventually died. Luran “the Half Man” or “Bastard Prince” as he was called behind his back would normally have then been next in line for the throne except his marriage yielded no children. This was mostly the case with half breeds, that they would be infertile.

The nobles used this excuse to steer the Kingship away from Luran and to a cousin. The line remain for several generations on that side of the family until another issue with lineage came up. Luran still appear to be in his prime and the Anti-Elf faction again worried that his right to rule would be backed by the populace.

One night a young servant who had being working at the Palace for over a year, brought the Prince his dinner to his apartments. The food was laced with a nujmber of poisons and the unsuspecting Luran eat his fill. He died several hours later in great pain. When Luran’s body was found Everguard, his razor sharp magical saber, was not with him. It is believed the sword was smuggled out of the Palace and it’s whereabouts are unknown.